“Then I’m sorry to say that you won’t be leaving, Mr. Pretol.” She barked something else in Hungarian that Ed didn’t catch at all, but he didn’t need to. He was already in motion as the last syllables left her tongue.
Lunging toward Soren, he wrapped one arm around his shoulders, pulling him in so that he was half-hidden by his larger frame while he grabbed a knife with his left hand. He flung the knife out, embedding the blade deep in Mironov’s arm as the man was trying to lift a gun from a holster hidden inside his suit jacket.
He wanted to snag a second knife and throw it straight into Katona’s throat, but it seemed like a bad thing to kill the mother of the guy he had a crush on. The woman might be completely toxic and deadly, but it wasn’t going to score him any points with Max. It probably didn’t hurt that she’d darted behind Nail, using him as a human shield as she pulled her gun out.
“Use exit route beta,” Charlie ordered through the earpiece.
“Cover them. I’ve got the gazebo,” Westin said, his voice cool and completely unflappable, as if this were just another day.
“Got it!” Charlie replied, his breathing heavier as he moved to make sure their escape route was clear.
Soren slipped out of his grasp and cold-cocked one of the men standing guard at the entrance to the gazebo. Ed took the other. He slammed his left fist into the hand that was lifting a gun and hammered his right into the man’s face, spinning him on his heels.
Wood splintered near his head, followed by the bang of a gun. Ed ducked and made another grab for Soren to get them moving.
“Run! She’s found cover. I can’t get to her from this angle without killing her!” West shouted suddenly.
No need to tell him twice. Ed caught Soren by the arm and pulled him away from the fucker he was kicking in the stomach. They ran from the gazebo, heading in the direction of the route they’d laid out prior to leaving for the meeting.
More gunfire filled the air from the gazebo, and people around the park screamed in terror. At least his team was smart enough to use suppressors to keep the public from freaking out. Katona didn’t give a shit about that.
As they were about to turn a corner, pain ripped through Ed’s left arm and he swore loudly. He released his hold on Soren and grabbed his arm to find it warm and wet.
“Ed? What happened? You hit?” Soren demanded.
Ed looked over to find Soren’s steps slowing as he tried to see why Ed had released him.
“Ed’s hit?” Kairo demanded over their communication channel.
“Winged. Barely more than a scratch,” Ed snapped, even though he could feel the blood seeping in between in fingers and sliding down his arm to drip off his elbow.
“Ed?” Charlie growled.
“I’m serious. It’s nothing,” Ed quickly answered. He’d seen this shit spiral out of control with worry. Especially when Kairo couldn’t see shit with security cameras to confirm someone wasn’t hiding a more serious injury. “Doc Will is going to be bored with this one. Three stitches and a Band-Aid, I swear.”
“Maybe you can convince a certain other doctor to kiss it better,” West drawled.
He wasn’t excited about telling Max that he’d gotten hurt during this meeting.
But he was even more worried about telling him that his mother had ordered his torture. That she had no problem killing her only son to get what she wanted.
No, this was going to be a very ugly conversation.
12
MAX SUTTON
This was it.
This had to be it.
He stared at the email he’d just received from Janet Jones. It was short and simple.
You’ve done it. Go now!
He’d sent her all his research and logic, narrowing down the tomb location to two possible places. He’d been leaning toward the Valley of the Kings outside of Luxor proper on the West Bank of the Nile, but that would have been far too presumptuous of High Priest Kazemde. Most believed he was located somewhere in the Tomb of the Nobles farther to the south.
But not Kazemde.
Yes, he was a high priest during the reign of Ramesses III, and possibly even a blood relative, but this man wouldn’t have been content to be placed with the Tomb of the Nobles. Kazemde was undoubtedly the true mastermind behind the Harem Conspiracy that killed the pharaoh.
No, that left one very likely spot—the Valley of the Queens.
And by his calculations, the man’s tomb was located directly south of the Tomb of Amenherkhepshef—it was fitting that master remained near his puppets.
Though, he had to be objective. There was also a chance that the tomb was located in the Valley of the Monkeys, which would also make sense. The Tomb of Aya was located there, which was a prestigious enough location for a king, while not too close to Ramesses III to draw attention.